Melodious Memories
by rgilmore03
Summary: A short one-parter set the day Jess leaves for California. Literati.


Title:  Melodious Memories

Pairing:  Literati

Rating:  PG

Disclaimer:  I am, in NO WAY, affiliated with Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino, the WB, or any of the other big names. I am just a big fan of the Gilmore Girls, Milo Ventimiglia, and Chad Michael Murray.

Spoilers:  References to 2.13:  A-Tisket, A-Tasket and 3.15:  Face-Off

Distribution:  Please e-mail me first at rgilmore03@hotmail.com - Thanks.

Author's Note:  This is just a short one-parter set the day Jess moves to California to live with his father.  I have incorporated actual dialogue from the show into my story, and it is typed in italics.  (I didn't write those lines, and I know most of you know which dialogue was used in the show…but I don't want someone to yell at me claiming that I stole dialogue…)  I wrote this about a month ago, but I didn't post it until today because I was having trouble with the formatting.  I have tried fixing this problem numerous times, but it just won't work.  The first flashback will not appear italicized, no matter what I do.  I wanted to post it once the problem had been solved, but it seems like that won't happen.  Hope you enjoy, and please don't forget that I absolutely love reviews!   

-

-

-

Rory Gilmore sat on the porch swing, her legs dangling from the edge.  It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, but not to the point where you had to squint your eyes to see the blooming flowers.  The light breeze of wind splashed Rory's brunette locks around.  A robin was perched on the porch railing, gazing at the picturesque setting around it.

Rory wasn't listening to the birds chirping, or Babette's lawnmower clipping away green blades of grass.  She was listening to a selection of CD's on her Walkman.  As she listened to the final selection on Philosophy of the World by The Shaggs, she closed her eyes as she remembered him. It was the day of the basket auction, and Rory and Jess were sitting on the bridge… "You know, Ernest only has lovely things to say about you," Jess insisted, persuading her to read something by Hemingway. 

"Why are you only nice to me?" Rory asked, completely oblivious to Jess' feelings about her. 

"Excuse me?" Jess asked. "An hour ago you were totally screwing with Dean and now you're totally nice to me." 

"You see, it's the screwing with Dean - that's an important step to getting here so that I can be nice to you," Jess explained. 

"So it was a plan." 

"What?" "The whole bidding on my basket, it was a plan." 

"Okay, I'm officially starving," Jess said quickly, trying to change the subject. 

_"And officially evasive."_

Rory was suddenly broken out of her trance, as she heard Babette's lawnmower start up again.  Rory looked up, and realized her eyes were full of sad tears wanting to escape.  Rory closed her eyes again, remembering part of their first telephone conversation…

_ "Ah, The Fountainhead," Rory smiled, knowing how much Jess disliked Ayn Rand._

_"Yes. Your fault, and you will pay."_

_"I promise. Commit to it one more time and if it still is awful for you, I will make it up to you," Rory promised._

_"Oh yeah?" Jess asked curiously. _

_"Yeah." _

_"Okay. I'm gonna hold you to that," Jess smirked. _

Rory smiled, thinking of how much she loved Jess…and how long she had loved Jess, even though she herself wasn't aware of it then.  Rory took The Shaggs out of her Walkman, and slid The Clash in, deciding to listen to "Guns of Brixton".  She laughed, remembering how he had written the lyrics to this song during their study session, instead of studying Shakespeare.  Rory stretched her legs across the porch swing and closed her eyes…

_"…I just wanted to let you know that this is the last weekend I spend sitting around like an idiot hoping you'll call, okay? I'm not going to be that girl. From now on, I want a plan. I mean, a real plan with a time and a place, and I'm tired of hearing 'Let's hook up later.' What does that mean anyway? What's later? How do I set my watch to later? Later doesn't cut it anymore…"_

Rory opened her eyes, and cringed at the harsh memory.  After a moment, she smiled, remembering how she and Jess went to see The Distillers shortly after her rant on the answering machine.

The telephone rang from inside the house, and Rory ran in to answer it.  She grabbed the phone from its rightful position – on the living room couch – and answered it.

"Hello?" Rory asked breathlessly.

"Hey."

_It was him_

Rory raised her eyebrows, and smiled widely.  "Hey," she whispered softly.

Jess smiled as he listened to her voice, something he hadn't been able to do since he left home that morning.  Home.  He had just called Stars Hollow home.  And they say people don't change…

Jess cleared his throat.  "How have you been?"

Rory wiped away several fresh tears from her eyes.  "Okay," she replied quietly.  She stepped back outside, and breathed in the crisp, fresh spring air.

"Rory…"

Rory looked away, staring at a flowerbed in Babette's yard that pleaded to be watered; its bright orange petals were drooping.

"Rory…it's not the end."

Rory shook her head in defiance.  "Don't tell me you're going to say it's only the beginning."

"And what if I do?"

"Then you're lying."

"Please don't cry," Jess pleaded, "For me."

Rory sighed.  "I can't make any promises, but I'll try."  Rory wiped away a few lingering tears and managed to smile.

Jess grinned.  "So…do you miss me?" he asked.

"You have no idea."  Rory smiled, as she gazed at Babette's flowerbed once again.  She squinted her eyes, as she looked at the orange flowers that were blooming, their petals standing upright.  Was it just her, or…        

Rory sighed happily, and that was when she realized that Jess wasn't lying.  It _wasn't_ the end.  In fact, it could possibly be only the beginning of something new.

***

End


End file.
